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Voices echo through the darkness.
My eyes snap open and I inhale a harsh breath, the wound in my chest searing. I cover it with my hand, air wheezing in my throat as it tightens.
“Taraven,” one of the voices says.
My eyes adjust to the light seeping in from the front entrance. Frankie is right beside me, her hand on my shoulder. Malix crouches on my left side, his gaze trained on my wound.
“Taraven, you’re getting worse,” Frankie says. “We need to call in evac.”
I shake my head vigorously, groaning when it makes my chest hurt. “No, no—I’m fine.”
“You’renot,” Frankie says.
“But it will reveal our position,” I say. “If we call in azephtan…”
“It will revealyourposition,” Frankie says, her brow furrowing. “We’re going…we’re going to go on without you.”
Malix’s hand slides over mine on the other side, but he doesn’t say anything. I search his features for a sign, wondering what the meaning of all this is—why they’ve decided to leave me.
But I already know, don’t I?
Because I’m the weakest of us.
I grimace and protest again. “No, I can help.”
“Malix had a…well, I can only call it a vision,” she says. “And I did, too. And mine was a little more cryptic, but his told him where we need to go.”
Malix clear his throat. “There’s another facility connected to this one by canal,” he says. “I saw Second House soldiers surrounding some kind of…nucleus, I suppose. I think it’s what’s triggering those weapons.”
“And you know how to stop it?” I ask. “Sounds like a job for an engineer.”
“Taraven, stop,” Frankie says. Her eyes glimmer strangely in the dawn light. “We’re not leaving you behind because we don’t think you can help. We’re doing it because you’re hurt—badly. And when we’re on the other side of this, I want you to live.” Her eyes dart over to Malix. “We both do.”
Malix’s tongue darts out to wet his lips, his black eyes dancing with moonstone sparks. “Taraven, we still have much to explore together. We will all live—butonlyif you are evacuated.”
“You need more than first aid,” Frankie says. She sniffles, and a tear slips down her cheek. “And besides…we already called it in. They’ll be here any second.”
I open my mouth to protest, but Frankie covers it with a kiss. She holds my face in her hands and runs her thumbs along my scales, soothing me even while my chest burns. I feel Malix raise my hand up, and then he kisses the back of it gently.
What did I do to deserve these two warriors? And how will I live with knowing they’re in danger?
I hear a distant rumble, then the telltale crunch of azephtansetting down on a sandy beach. I kiss Frankie harder, reaching for her and touching her soft, curly hair. She takes a shuddering breath…then pulls away.
“You need to get going,” she whispers. “Got a plane to catch.”
She stands, then grasps my arm, then pulls me to my feet. I try to use my tail to brace myself, but I’m so weak that Malix and Frankie have to support me. Out the front entrance we go, toward a smallzephtanswishing its tail across the sand…azephtanI recognize.
The hatch opens, steam rolls out.
A figure appears—humanoid, tall, with silvery scales and a long tail.
Ravik.
He comes out to help me inside, and they exchange a few words. It’s hard to focus, though, and I sway on my feet. Ravik catches me, his touch cold compared to Frankie and Malix, and then he’s hauling me inside.
The balmy interior of Ikaray takes me into its embrace. I sway, falling forward. I feel Malix’s touch on my shoulder, Frankie’s voice in my ears.
Then I stumble into the med bay and the world fades away.
